Media Notes: Nordic Pay-TV Broadcaster Signs Deal To Broadcast NBA

MTG’s Nordic pay-TV broadcaster Viasat has signed a deal with the NBA to bring games to Russia, the CIS and Georgia. The Viasat Sport East channel will broadcast up to five regular season games each week along with major NBA events including the NBA All-Star Game, the Eastern and Western Conference Playoffs and the NBA Finals in June. The deal initially covers the '12-13 season (DIGITAL TV EUROPE, 12/17). ... Seven News has "continued to beef up its sports coverage" in Melbourne by hiring Herald Sun journalist Mark Stevens as chief football reporter. Stevens has been a "mainstay of the Herald Sun's football coverage for the past 14 years and has also appeared regularly on Triple M as a football analyst" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/17).